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Flugtag -- human powered flight? Answered

Have you seen the videos for Flugtag? It looks like a great excuse to build something fun and jump in the water, and maybe fly a few feet too.

Most of them look like this:

And here's the US record holder, at a whopping 155 feet:

I bet we could do better than that, especially with a drop. ;) Anyone have a proposal for Team Instructables? They hold these things around the world, so it's not just US. I bet we could pick up on style points as well.

From the official page:The first Red Bull Flugtag took place in Vienna, Austria, in 1991. Since then, more than 35 Flugtags have been held around the world -- from Ireland to San Francisco -- attracting up to 300,000 spectators. The record for the farthest flight-to-date currently stands at 195 feet set in 2000 at Flugtag Austria. The U.S. record stands at 155 feet set in Nashville, TN in 2007.

Teams are judged on three criteria: distance, creativity and showmanship. What constitutes a craft is purely up to the imagination of the participating teams. Past Red Bull Flugtag entries have included a pregnant cow, a diaper-delivering stork, a pimped-out Cadillac, a giant Oompa Loompa, and yes folks -- a lobster named Larry.

28 Replies

I am Aerosapiensman and I am an ex Red Bull Flug Tag "competitor". I built a Giant Human Batsuit that is a no joke flying contraption or Ornithopter. I was in the New York City Flug Tag in 2003. I went straight down with a 10 mph tail wind. A tail wind is no good. I invite you all to visit my website at: aerosapiens.com. Thanks. Dave/ Aerosapiensman.

Well... The Birdman competition in England is cancelled due to the fact that the owner felt it was necessary to pull out 80 feet off the end of the pier without telling anybody.Great! Dave. Aerosapiensman.

I actually just had a ridiculous idea that could propel someone great distances only using people power, the only thing is I'm having difficulty figuring out if they would survive my method, either that or we burn people in an engine...
The only things is I absolutely refuse to compete in the belfast flugtag, jumping in to a river that my friend got septicemea from seems incredibly stupid, even for me... Then again any excuse to jump off something with the outside chance of flight seems good to me, that and I would be aiming for the bridge...

Yeah - the Bognor Birdman has been around for far longer than the "Red Bull Flugtag". Quite disingenuous of Red Bull, cosnidering they stole the idea from Bognor in the first place.
I remember watching the Birdmen on the Beeb, when I was just a wee lad, growing up in Belgium...

I'm highly in favor of anything that convinces people to build ridiculous contraptions and jump off high platforms into the water. ;)
Do they add points for style too? I think we've got that in spades.

Couple of questions: the Beeb, does that mean the BBC ? (just a guess on my part),
and
by the Birdman, are you referring to David Attenborough directly ? or a group of persons. Attenborough is phenomenal when it comes to animals....unless I have the wrong Attenborough ?

That last one was a barely modified hang glider (or so it appeared), hmmm, without the forward motion being sustained, there is a limit to how far it will maintain lift and travel in that environment. Are human powered props allowable ? Not that they provide much propulsion.